Depending where you are, you may have noticed that it’s been exceptionally hot this summer. Or wet. Or dry! Or maybe some combination of the three! That’s because, as Seth Meyers explained in a “Closer Look” segment on Tuesday night, 2016 has been one of the hottest years on record — with July alone being the single hottest month in recorded history — and things are only going to get worse. And with a presidential campaign almost completely lacking in substance, climate change deserves to be getting much, much more attention than it currently is.
Hillary Clinton may at least be pushing for clean energy, but on the other side of the aisle, Donald Trump and the rest of the GOP are still firmly taking a “Says Who Guy” stance on the subject. This is despite the fact that parts of Louisiana are still underwater from historic flooding, which was considered a “500 year event” — one of eight of these types of events in the United States alone in the last year.
Trump’s attitude about climate change may have been best illustrated in his now infamous rant about not being able to use the type of hairspray he likes, however, an application seeking permission to build a sea wall at one his resorts in Ireland was revealed to be specifically in response to predictions of a rising sea wall due to global warming.
Either way, whether Trump is ultimately for or against global warming, it’s more clear than ever that this is something we all need to be paying more attention to beyond the theatrics in this election season.